Steve LeBrun never doubted his ability, but there were times he wondered if he could continue making his living in professional golf.

As recently as 2011, the 34-year-old was paying his own way to play local one- and two-day tournaments in his native south Florida.

“I knew I was good enough,” LeBrun said, “but when it’s hard to pay bills and you’re standing over 5-footers to pay rent for the month, it got a little rough.”

LeBrun was speaking from an unlikely position Friday afternoon — as one of three men sharing the lead in the second round of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.

The PGA Tour rookie shot his second consecutive 68 to sit at 6-under par overall, tied with Kevin Streelman and Charley Hoffman.

Second-round play was suspended at 6:15 p.m. with dangerous weather in the area. Seventeen players will complete their rounds starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, including Camilo Villegas at 3 under with one hole to play.

LeBrun bogeyed two of the first four holes, but he played the final 14 at 4 under.

Streelman and Hoffman both shot 1-under 70 to hold a piece of the lead. Brian Davis, who began the day as the solo leader at 6 under, shot 75 and is tied for 25th at 2 under.

Luke Donald and Bill Haas are tied for fourth at 5 under. Seven players are at 4 under.

Swainsboro-native Will Claxton is tied for 38th at 1 under. Savannah’s Brian Harman finished one shot over the projected cut line at 2 over.

LeBrun, Streelman and Hoffman all teed off at 9 a.m. or earlier. Wind gusts of 25-30 mph made scoring difficult in the afternoon, though Haas made a run with a pair of birdies on the back nine to shoot 68.

“When you get a 30-mile-an-hour wind gust at the wrong time, it can hurt you,” Streelman said. “Those par 3s with water and the pin positions, it’s going to be difficult.”

Harbour Town is a course many players say they need to see multiple times before they can contend, but LeBrun is doing just fine in his tournament debut.

“We’ve been here before to Hilton Head, but never played the course,” he said. “And for the first time, it’s pretty sweet.”

LeBrun traveled a long road to get to this point.

It took LeBrun four years after he turned professional out of Florida Atlantic University to gain status on the Web.com Tour. He was limited by injuries as a rookie in 2004 and played well the following year, but a rough 2006 season left him without a tour card or a sponsor.

LeBrun spent three years playing mini tours and got his Web.com card again in 2009, but he lost it again after an “even worse year than” 2006. Then came the return to West Palm Beach, Fla., and the local events.

“I had a lot of success there, but I knew the golf courses really well,” he said. “Basically tore it up there and I was able to stay afloat and be able to keep playing.”

LeBrun’s luck began to turn around last year. He qualified for the U.S. Open and made the cut, gaining automatic entry to the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School.

The night before Q-School, LeBrun’s wife Jen gave birth to their second daughter, Rose. LeBrun said he got about 30 minutes of sleep that night and overcame a sluggish first round to advance to the finals.

LeBrun, who had been trying to advance through Q-School since 2000, shot 24 under over six rounds in November and December to finally earn his PGA Tour card.

Reality set it this year, as LeBrun said he’s needed time to adjust to the speed of the greens on tour. He made the cut in only three of his first eight events, his best finish a tie for 24th at the Puerto Rico Open.

LeBrun decided to stay away from the course last week and watched the Masters with his family. While Masters contenders like Jason Day and Marc Leishman have talked this week about feeling fatigue from Augusta, LeBrun is energized.

“I mean, I’m not going to lie to you. I didn’t hit a single ball (last week),” LeBrun said.

This week’s purse totals $5.8 million. If LeBrun winds up on the leaderboard at the end of Sunday’s final round, he will take home the winner’s share of $1,044,000.

In that case, a 5-foot putt on the 18th hole could pay out much more than one month’s worth of rent.

“It’s one of those things: I always knew I had the game to be out here,” LeBrun said, “and I plan on being in this position a lot of times.”

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